Agenda
by GylzGirl
Summary: A woman from Giles' past shows up on his doorstep.


Agenda  
by GylzGirl  
  
Disclaimer: Joss owns the Buffy crew. I own Vanessa Benson and the actual story.  
Written: Summer 1999  
  
******  
  
  
"Dammit! Ow!" For the third time that week, the first thing Rupert Giles had done in the morning was stub his toe against a box of books. He rubbed his hand across his stubble-covered chin. He had just barely gotten the books unpacked from the evacuation of the Sunnydale High library. Now he was having to repack some of the collection to transport to his new office at the University of California, Sunnydale. He made his way to the bathroom to shave, deciding that he would finish the packing today or lose a foot.  
  
An hour later, he sat on his stairs wearing faded jeans and a crisp white shirt. He held a clipboard, checking titles off the list as he placed the volumes carefully inside a box. As he moved to check off the third title, there was a knock on his door. "Shit," he swore softly. He padded down the staircase in his bare feet and opened the door.  
  
A slender woman with long honey blonde hair smiled up at him. "Well hello there stranger."  
  
The voice brought a smile to his face. "Vanessa?" He hugged her lightly around the waist. She laced her arms around his neck and kissed his cheek.  
  
"Missed you."  
  
He disentangled from her and motioned for her to enter his apartment. "Well, I-I'm pleased to see you too Van, though I suppose I shouldn't be."  
  
"Why's that?"  
  
"You're still on the Council aren't you?"  
  
"Well of course I am, don't be silly." She smoothed the seams of her gray skirt.  
  
"Yes, and I'm not exactly on speaking terms with them right now."  
  
"I came to see you because I missed you Rupert, but as far as the Council goes, I may perhaps be able to fix things for you there."  
  
"I'm not so sure I want things fixed with them." He moved to his couch. Vanessa soon followed. "If I'd have known what bastards they could really be, I never would have gone back to them all those years ago."   
  
"Then you never would have met me."  
  
The smile he gave her was humorless. "No offense, but after all they've done..."  
  
"You wouldn't have met your precious Buffy either." Giles said nothing. "Was she worth it? Was she worth the disgrace? All the pain?"  
  
"If you have to ask, it only proves that those seated on the Council not only shouldn't be trying to dictate the fate of a Slayer but they shouldn't be allowed near one."  
  
"Are you even going to listen to me? Or should I just leave?"  
  
"I'm sorry. How long are you in town for?"  
  
"The night. I have a plane out of here early tomorrow."  
  
"You could stay here tonight if you wanted."  
  
She smiled. "You wouldn't mind housing the enemy?"  
  
"Vanessa Benson of the Watcher's Council may be an enemy, but the woman sitting before me is an old friend. I should have remembered that."  
  
"I would love to stay. Can I talk to you at all about what the Council asked me to, or is that off limits?"  
  
He sighed. "No, we'll talk. But if I ask you to drop the subject after I hear you out, I expect you to."  
  
"Fair enough."  
  
"Just uh, just let me get some shoes on and we'll head out for a spot of lunch."  
  
"Is that due to my incredibly magnetic charm or the fact that you don't want me to know which volumes weren't destroyed in the fire at Sunnydale High as Mr. Wyndam-Pryce reported back to the Council." Giles smiled slyly, as though he'd been caught with his hand in the cookie jar. He sat on the steps, pulled some tennis shoes on and began to lace them. "Don't worry, I won't tell. It doesn't matter anyway, anything they sent you, they most likely made some kind of a copy of. You know them. They wouldn't trust a foreign postal system to anything they didn't have back up for. They only asked for them back to punish you."  
  
"I know." He stood and walked towards her. "Let's not worry about this now? Let's see if we can find you some kind of a decent meal in this town?" She smiled slightly as he led her out the door.  
  
  
  
******  
  
  
A pleasant lunch soon turned into a whirlwind tour of the sights of the Hellmouth. Giles started with the 12 cemeteries within the city limits, including the DuLac mausoleum. It was nearing dusk and they had wound up at the site Sunnydale High School had once stood on. It was fenced off with bulldozers and construction equipment locked behind the chain link. Vanessa caught a look of wistfullness crossing Giles' face. "You miss it don't you?"  
  
"I never thought I would but...yes. There were so many memories here. Battles won...lost. Buffy, Willow, Xander, Oz, Cordelia...and Jenny, when I think of them, mostly, I think of them here."  
  
"But you still have the children. You've moved to the University to be near them again."  
  
"I know. But this is where they grew up. Where I grew up, stopped being either Ripper or the Council's goldenboy and started being me. Cordelia has moved to LA. Jenny is dead. Xander if...when he comes back, won't be on campus to drop in and annoy me," he smiled," or make me laugh until my sides hurt. This is the last place we were all together. We're all moving on, possibly to better things, but it's the end of an era."  
  
Vanessa laced her arm through his as he sighed and turned away. "So what is going up in place of the school?"  
  
He snorted. "A graveyard."  
  
Her jaw dropped. "You are joking right?"  
  
"No Van, the Robert Jackson Snyder Memorial Cemetery."  
  
She laughed. "Nothing ever changes in Sunnydale then eh? Must get so boring here," she eyed him mischievously. He escorted her down what used to be the front steps to the school, steps that now led to the construction area.  
  
"Not bloody likely. A graveyard directly built over the Hellmouth? I think Buffy and I will be quite busy for a very long time to come."  
  
  
  
******  
  
  
After finishing a wonderful gourmet meal he had prepared, Giles and Vanessa settled on his sofa, each with a glass of red wine. "Now I suppose if you had some sort of Council agenda, you might as well tell me."  
  
"You're sure you want to hear about this right now?"  
  
"I've had a wonderful day and enough alcohol to brace me for whatever it is without being so gone I can't handle the news. I'd say if you had to pick a moment, now would be it."  
  
"All right. The Council was um, very disturbed to hear of Buffy shunning them." Giles' smile turned smug. "They were all set to send an extermination squad out here to deal with you, as the culprit behind her insolence."  
  
Giles gulped down a mouthful of wine. "That's ridiculous, the squads haven't been in use since the plague."  
  
"Nevertheless, they still exist. They were coming to deal with Faith anyway, you were the bonus." Giles' eyes held hers. "However, when Mr. Wyndam-Pryce returned he explained that Faith was no longer a threat, and that you never were. That Buffy had made her decision based on the Council's unwillingness to help her lover." Giles bristled at that word being used to describe Angel. "Shall I go on?" He nodded. "They have come to a decision that should you be willing to follow their rules in future," he started to protest, "provided of course that they present no direct danger to Buffy other than that which cannot be avoided by her duty, they would be willing to reinstate you as her Watcher, for as long as she may live."  
  
Giles sat his drink down on the table, stood and crossed the room to look out his window. "I know that you and Buffy have built up many resentments towards the Council over the past few months, understandably so. But I also know that you love her Rupert. Enough that you would never allow resentments, hers or your own, to come between her and a rich source of help that could very well prolong her life."  
  
After many moments of silence, Giles spoke. "I'll present the offer to Buffy. It will be her decision alone." He turned back to the window.  
  
Vanessa pulled a small vial of pink powder from her pocket. She quickly dumped it into his drink and stirred it with her finger. She replaced the vial and retrieved a business card as she stood and walked over to Giles. He turned to face her. "Should you decide to accept, this is your contact. Just call him and he will take care of everything." Giles nodded and slipped the card into the back pocket of his jeans. She smiled. "There that wasn't so bad was it? Come back to the sofa and finish your drink."   
  
They both returned to the couch. She handed him his glass. "So, how is the Council treating Wesley?" He began to sip.  
  
Vanessa watched him intently, trying to see if he detected anything. "Well, he was in a spot of hot water when he came back with the news that the Council had essentially lost both of its Slayers. However as more information came to light, he was given a teaching assignment at the Academy. He's still in line for Slayer assignment if that's what you were wondering."  
  
"Well, he came here in no shape to take charge of a Slayer, and left with more qualifications than any of you. I had hoped he wouldn't be summarily dismissed." Vanessa watched with expectant eyes as the last of the crimson liquid slid past his lips. He sat the glass on the table and leaned back.   
  
She finished her own drink and sat the glass down. "Now, if you care to stop thinking about the Council for a moment, I was thinking you hadn't shown me much of your place."  
  
He smiled. "Not a whole lot to show. You want a grand tour?" He stood.  
  
She stood as well. "Well I was thinking we could start with your bedroom, and end there as well." She snaked her arms around his neck and leaned in to kiss him. He moved back and removed her arms, gently but forcefully.  
  
"Vanessa, you know that I think you're lovely."  
  
"There's a but in here isn't there?"  
  
"But the last time I acted rashly about this sort of thing...well even though I wasn't fully in control of my own faculties, I am still dealing with the consequences. I do try not to repeat mistakes, and that was most definitely a mistake."  
  
"Well, I'm in perfect control of myself, and I know what I want." She moved forward quickly and kissed him.  
  
  
  
******  
  
  
Vanessa lay next to Giles in his bed, watching him sleep, tracing patterns in the hair on his chest. She looked over to the clock on his nightstand. It read 1:23 am. She cursed silently, kissed Giles on the cheek and stood to dress.  
  
  
  
******  
  
  
The sound of a phone ringing tore Giles from his sleep. He blindly reached out for the receiver before his eyes had even opened. "Yes? H-Hello?"  
  
"Mr. Giles?"  
  
The voice was unfamiliar. Giles opened his eyes and sat up a bit in the bed, casting a glance over at his clock. 4 am. "This is he."  
  
"I hate to wake you up, especially with news like this. This is Sunnydale General." He turned on his light, mildly surprised to find himself naked. "It's about your niece, Faith."  
  
"Y-yes?"  
  
"I'm sorry sir. She passed away tonight. Just a few minutes ago." A lead weight sunk in his chest as he registered the news. He foggily began to remember the earlier events of the evening. Vanessa. The leadeness became a furnace of rage as he pieced everything together. "Mr. Giles?"  
  
"I-I'm sorry. I guess I'm just a bit stunned. C-can I get back to you tomorrow afternoon to make the arrangements?"  
  
"Of course, that would be fine. I'm so sorry."  
  
"Thank you for calling." He hung up the phone and flew out of the bed. He got dressed on his way down the stairs and was out the door in seconds.  
  
  
  
******  
  
  
"Flight 818 to London will begin pre-boarding in ten minutes," a voice announced over the loudspeaker. Vanessa checked her watch and stretched. She grabbed her overnight bag and stood in search of a bathroom. The main public restroom was roped off as it was being mopped so she ventured a little further and found a smaller one-stall bathroom. She opened the door and turned on the light. The next thing she knew, someone had shoved her to the floor, entered and locked the door. She looked up, more than a little terrified. That feeling did not subside when she saw Rupert Giles glaring down on her.  
  
"Rupert..."  
  
"You little bitch." It was said matter-of-factly, cold rage making every syllable count. Vanessa remembered that voice from their youth. This was Ripper. More than that, even Ripper had manners enough to use that particular phrase toward a woman sparingly, only when truly deserved. She would be lucky to escape with her life. She stood on shaky legs and backed into the corner.  
  
"I-I can exp..."  
  
"What did you use on her Vanessa?" She opened her mouth to protest. He rushed forward, pinning her, a fist against the wall on either side of her head. "I'm warning you. Now is not the time for lies, or for you to try to be cute. Either one might be the last thing that you do."  
  
Vanessa fought back tears but could not keep from trembling. "I injected an air bubble in her IV. She never woke up. She didn't feel anything I swear."  
  
"Go on."  
  
"The Council will not be denied its Slayers Rupert. Wesley was given the assignment. He flat out refused it. He was sequestered to the academy until I could pull it off. He's quitting the Council as soon as they release him." His stare was intense, urging her, forcing her on. "I will be assigned the Slayer called in Faith's place in exchange for my actions." He moved away a few steps, pacing. "You have to convince Buffy to reconcile with the Council. Or the next extermination squad dispatched may very well be for her."  
  
"I'll blow up the fucking Watcher HQ before I let them hurt her."  
  
"And that will take out a few, but it won't get them all. You can't be one man against an army Rupert. And you know it."  
  
"Shut-up," he warned. She fell silent. "And me, what did you use on me?"  
  
"It w-was part chemical, part magical. It has no lasting effects. It was simply meant to give me enough time to carry out my assignment and get away."  
  
"But that's not all you used it for, is it?"  
  
"I knew you would never speak to me again after tonight. I just wanted to be with you one last time before..."  
  
He howled in rage and punched his fist through the wall an inch to the side of her face. She screamed and crumpled into a ball on the floor. "And what you wanted took precedence over what I wanted. So you fucked me, then you fucked me? Congratulations Van, you've just taken the final step to losing your soul. You'll go very far in the Council I'm sure." He roughly hoisted her to her feet with a crushing grip on her upper arms. "Look at me." She reluctantly opened her eyes and turned to him. "Never. Come. Back. Here. Again. And tell the Council the same. No one is coming near my Slayer. And if I hear of anything nasty happening to Wesley, the Council just may get a visit from the both of us, and they will not be happy about it I can assure you." He shoved her hard against the bathroom wall, then released her. He reached into his back pocket and retrieved a business card. Eyes locked on hers, he tore it into tiny pieces, tossed it into the toilet and flushed it.   
  
"Final boarding for Flight 818 to London," came over the speakers.  
  
Giles picked up her flight bag and shoved it against her stomach until she took it. "We don't want you to miss your flight." He took her by the arm and led her back to the terminal, walking her to her gate and making sure she got on board. He watched from the window as her plane took off and turned, hands in pockets, toward the exit. He pulled his hand out for a moment. In it, he held a crumpled business card with the contact for the Council scrawled on it. He took a deep breath, replaced it in his pocket and made his way out to his car. 


End file.
